Mockingjay: Legacy
by Pen1
Summary: A new Mockingjay arises...to fight the old...and new enemy. Katniss's daughter, named after herself, is forced to fight for her loved ones to complete what her mother did long ago-to bring freedom and peace for all. Snow is back, but he has a new evil ally to help him. But the new Mockingjay will be a force to be reckoned with...
1. Chapter 1: The Mockingjay's daughter

Chapter 1

Peeta's story

"OK, just one more push!" says the nurse. My wife, Katniss grimaces in pain, but is making a big attempt to hide her discomfort from showing up on her face, although she is not in the arena which would give her all the reason not to show defeat, to gain the sponsors' attention, and a bigger attempt to bring our second baby into the world. Bagel is presently with Katniss's mother outside in the waiting room, with Haymitch. It would be traumatic for our eldest son to see his mother in pain. But I'm sure that everything is fine. In fact, everything was going like clockwork from the time when Katniss's water broke when we were relaxing at the balcony to the time she was wheeled in by ready nurses and doctors. in fact, Effie is presently making a big din about it because she is so excited that the Mockingjay is having her second child. At least, the media ain't going to come along with flashing cameras as Katniss won't like it.

Katniss closes her eyes tightly and pushes as hard as she can. Her hand grips around mine as tightly as she did when she was giving birth to Bagel, who is presently six years old. A groan escapes from her lips, only to be silenced by the loud cry of our baby. Katniss looks relieved and a tired smile creeps over her face. 'Finally." she whispers to me and I kiss her on her forehead. "It's a girl, Mr Mellark." the nurse says with a big smile. "Congrats! Your first baby girl." her voice is jubilant. "What would you like to name her, Mrs Mellark?" I look at Katniss. "Well ,your turn. Remember? Bread names for boys and flower names for girls." I say dreamily. Katniss scratches her head and looks confused. "I don't know what to name her." she admits with a giggle. "Never mind. We'll think about it later." I say. "You need your rest after such an exhausting time."

A few hours later, Katniss is sleeping with our baby in her arms. She looks beautiful when she sleeps, just as she was when Katniss slept in the cave at the arena. When I mentioned it to her, I got a scowl in return, which was pretty worth it as she looked plucky with that short-tempered look. Perfection is the only word I can use to describe my wife's face, when she is recovering from that tiring labour. Those lips that used to kiss me are so...perfect. Our newborn is still awake, looking at me with her small eyes, which tell me a lot of what kind of girl she is going to grow up into. Bagel comes in and I say to him, "Shhhh. Your mummy is sleeping. Here's your baby sister." I gently take the baby from her hands without disturbing her. I put the baby in its cot, which is low enough for Bagel's height. He looks at his sister and says, "Wow, she's cute. And plucky."

Plucky? I look closely at the baby. Her small eyes remind me of the Katniss I found behind the old bakery, when she was starving. I remember suffering a beating for trying to help Katniss. The eyes remind me of the Girl on Fire who was set ablaze on a chariot in the opening of the 74th Hunger Games, and of the notable tribute who used unconventional tactics to survive for days in the arena, by sending down tracker jackers and chaos on the Careers, and burning up food supplies. The eyes remind me of the brave girl who would willingly die to save me by going to the Feast, just to get the medicine i desperately needed, and the humble girl who willingly washed and cleaned me up at the stream.

I see the girl in her, my Katniss, who sparked the flames of the revolution that set us free, by pulling out the berries in defiance of the Capitol's rules and eventually becoming the Mockingjay, who stirred up the districts to work together to ovrthrow Snow and the Capitol, to free Panem and lead it to the peace and prosperity it now enjoys today. The baby has brown hair too. I can imagine Katniss tying her hair into a neat youthful braid when she grows up. Her skin is in the colour of an olive's, just like her mother's. In truth, she is a mini-version of Katniss. You can say that Bagel is also a mini-version of me, as he has blond hair. But the colour of his eyes is a mixture of mine and Katniss's. But he is a child prodigy in baking. The other day, Bagel made a strawberry muffin cake with cookies in it. Unfortunately, it blew up the moment it exited the oven. However, we both spent the afternoon munching on the chocolate bits that we found in the collapsed insides. But Katniss was not pleased with the mess and ordered us to clean it up immediately.

"I know what we'll name her." I say when Katniss awakes. She rubs her eyes and sighs, before saying, "What?" I look at the baby and say, "We'll name her after you, Katniss Junior." Her eyes open wide. "Seriously?" she questions in surprise. "Why would I want my girl to be named after me? You know how it will make Haymitch, Effie and my mum nuts?" Then she looks closer at our baby and she, the baby, lets out something that I can describe as a giggle. "She looks like me. Really." Katniss sighs. She takes the baby in her arms and cuddles it. "OK, have your way. She's Katniss Junior. But one thing, her nickname will be Kat. Not Catnip, like Gale used to call me."

Gale is now married to Delly and they also live in District 12. Delly has recently given birth to a son named Thorn. They say that Thorn looks as muscular and handsome as his father. "Ha! Ha! Two Katnisses in the family. Bagel, wouldn't that be cute?" I ask my eldest son, half in jest. "That will be cool. I'll tell my friends at school!" he celebrates. The baby, or Kat, I should say. shifts uncomfortably in her mother's arms. "Time to feed her." says Katniss. "But she isn't crying. How do you know?" I ask. "Trust me. Mother's instinct." she smirks and starts to undress to breastfeed Kat. "I have a feeling this baby won't cry for whatever she needs. She seems...different." There's some uncertainty in a her voice. Katniss finishes undressing and almost immediately, the baby starts feeding. "There." she says.

Bagel looks rather awkard, so I quickly send him outside.


	2. Chapter 2: Bagel Bakes

Chapter 2

Katniss Jr's (aka Jay) story

I'm eleven today. Today seems really special as mummy's promised me that she would teach me how to use a bow and arrows, to find food or to protect yourself. I'm going to be twelve in a week, so I think I'll call this an early birthday gift-my first bows and arrows. Mummy says I can have them once I know how to shoot, but I'll be using them to practice and learn.

Mummy told me before that she tried to teach me and Bagel, my elder brother, earlier back then, so that we would get the hang of it as she did during the bad days when everyone was hungry and the Peacekeepers abused instead of protecting. Daddy said, and always says especially during dinner time that I always hit bullseye. Mummy agrees, saying that I did lay my hands on the bow on that day, and hit my first bullseye. But I feel foreign at the very sight of my mother's longbow hanging in the cabinet. Mummy would have taught me and Bagel archery earlier, if not for a giant wolf mutt which burst in, ready to make a meal of us. There's still a lot of mutts in the woods, most of them abandoned or escaped from the Capitol labs in the heyday of Snow's reign.

Daddy always says that mummy is very brave. She fought a lot in the Games, and also fought with some huge bears. I think that is why the bear at mummy and daddy's wedding didn't dare to attack. The bears are all scared of her now. As for the wolf mutt, as daddy told us many times, my brave mummy saved us from the mutt by lunging at it with all her might while daddy got me and Bagel to safety. But mummy didn't make it out of the woods until the next day, at dawn. She spent the whole night fighting off the mutt.

Fighting is very cruel. That is why daddy always tells Bagel and I not to fight unless we have to defend ourselves. But in the Hunger Games, as taught by our boring History teacher, Mr Timothy, you have to fight and kill other kids to survive. I wouldn't like it if I would have to point a sword at Bagel's throat one day. He's such a fun big brother. Bagel never gets angry and is always ready to play a game with you.

Mummy was hurt by the big wolf. The next few days were very scary. Mummy wouldn't let Bagel and I see her. Daddy spent quite a lot of time with her, feeding her and calming her nightmares, which she has been having on some nights. You may never know how bad the Hunger Games can be for my mummy and daddy. I hear mummy crying on some nights, and I get scared for her. I love my mummy and I don't want her to get hurt.

Mummy has a scar across her right eye from the claw of the wolf. From that day onwards, we seldom go to the woods. But today, it's going to be different. It's going to be better. Mummy is going to teach me how to hunt and shoot an arrow so that I can be brave just like her. But first, I have to get dressed and come down for breakfast.

"Jay, breakfast is going to be ready! Come down and help your dad. The muffins will soon be ready." mummy says from downstairs. Mummy and daddy call me Jay, although my name is Katniss, after my mother, because I look like my mummy, who was the Mockingjay. You can say that my nickname comes from my mummy's second name too-Mockingjay. Whenever Mr Timothy talks about how the Mockingjay led the fight for independence for Panem, everyone has their eyes on me, especially Thorn Hawthorne. It's kind of unnerving, you know. Thorn's dad is Gale Hawthorne, who was mummy's best friend. I say 'was' because my mummy is always crazy about daddy. Every Saturday, they wake up early and I always catch them at the porch outside, kissing passionately. If Uncle Gale happens to be taking a stroll nearby, things get awkward. I have heard tales from Uncle Haymitch about how mummy and Gale used to go 'dating' in the woods. Anyway, Uncle Haymitch is always drunk, so never mind.

I get up from my bed and put on my jacket. When I come downstairs, I find Bagel scrapping some sticky bits from a bowl into the garbage bin. He looks surprisingly is peering at one of the two ovens that sit in the kitchen, saying, "Bagel, you need to reduce the baking powder for this bread. Let's check the muffins. They should be ready by now. Dad opens the oven to be welcomed by a sound that is like that of a muffled cannon and a big cloud of bakery ware smithereens from the oven. "Bagel!" dad laughs. "It's not fluffy bread! You didn't have to put so much baking powder. At that rate, the bread will collapse and this happens."

"Sorry, these recipes are almost same!" says Bagel apologetically. "I get mixed up many times." "Well, so did I when I first tried my hand at fluffy bread," says dad. "But never mind. You'll get used to it. At least the muffins are fine." He opens the other oven to reveal a batch of brown mouth-watering vanilla muffins. Just then, he sees me. "Hey, Katniss. Good morning." my dad beams.

"Good morning." my mum and I say. Mummy has just appeared from the door after feeding that old cat, Buttercup. She's had him ever since she was a young girl. But according to dad, she didn't like him all the way. She tried to drown him in a bucket the first time she saw Buttercup. Had it not for Aunt Prim, Bagel and I wouldn't have a cat to fuss over with today. Wait, is daddy talking to me or mum? Like I said, our names are both Katniss. But I don't complain. "Nice muffins," I say. "Did Bagel made them?" "Yeah." mummy smiles. "He got up early to make them for us. I was up early too, so I know." mummy winks at Bagel, who looks a little shy.

"Let's try these muffins." I say enthusiastically. "Set the table first, Jay." mummy says, using my nickname. "Then we can enjoy Bagel's work."


	3. Chapter 3: Archery with mummy

Chapter 3

Although Bagel sometimes ends up making 'volcanic' breads and cakes, as he did just now, he does make pretty good muffins. They just simply melt in your mouth. Mummy says that these are really excellent, compared to the Capitol ones which are so sweet that you could swear the baker used a ton of sugar just for a couple of mini cakes. Accompanied by more toast, eggs and salad, breakfast is great.

After washing up the dishes, mummy takes me to the fence which is the boundary of District 12, the place where we live. Bagel is unluckily too busy with daddy to go to the woods to enjoy the fresh air and greenery. Well, at least he likes baking. Dad has promised to teach him how to make cheese buns, mummy's favorite. Daddy has never failed to awe mummy with cheese buns. When mummy was still sad after Aunt Prim died, dad tried to make her happy by bringing her cheese buns when she wasn't eating. It did the trick. Just before we leave, daddy kisses mummy on the lips. "Bye Katniss, see you later." dad whispers. I like seeing daddy kiss mummy. They look so cute when they do it. But Bagel looks more uncomfortable than ever.

"Jay, I want to show you something," mummy says. She points at a seemingly ordinary section of the fence. There is a sizable hole below, big enough for a fox or a child like me to crawl through like a mole in a tunnel. "When I went hunting when I was younger, I used this hole to sneak through to the woods. You see, long ago, the fence was not a protective barrier to us in District 12, but a prison wall. If it were not for this hole, I would not be able to go hunting and get food for your grandmother and Aunt Prim. Something for you to remember."

"Now, do we still use that small hole?" I ask doubtfully. To answer my question, mummy lifts the latch of a nearby door that I have never seen before. "Now we use this. These days being the peace times, we can be happy and free." she says. We go through the door to meet the green trees that smell fresher than mint and the flowers that look brighter than Aunt Effie's wig on Thanksgiving. "It's beautiful." I say, astounded at such a forest. A few squirrels and rabbits with cute noses glance at us and hurry off. A fawn leaps past us and disappears into a clump of bushes. a nearby stream burbles with excitement. As we walk in the woods, I can see only so many flowers that are as abundant as rocks. Some have the color my dad's favorite orange paint while others sport the colors of the rainbow.

Mummy stops at a big oak tree, and takes out a shiny gold metallic bow from a fallen log near the oak. "Guess what is this?" she beams. "My bow! My very own!" I almost scream with excitement. "Before you can use this to help me hunt, you must know how to shoot. I would have taught you earlier, but it was the wolf's fault." My mummy scowls, her piercing grey eyes looking at the direction of an ordinary coyote a few meters away. The beast just yawns and goes away. I have to giggle at mummy's antics, but she still looks serious. "Two things you must remember. One, this is a tool and not a toy. Two, this can help you defend yourself and our family when times are bad. You must understand that there will be a day when I won't be here to protect you and Bagel. Clear?"

I know why she doesn't says 'daddy will protect you too'. He is somewhat of a pacifist. And actually didn't kill anyone in the Games except by accident, as by leaving actually poisoned berries for a girl Tribute, an a stinking monkey in the Quarter Quell. My mum had to get her hands dirty to protect dad. But it doesn't means that daddy won't put up a fight if he has to. Mummy makes a wreath of leaves and ties a twig to the wreath so that one end is in the middle of the inner circle. She sets the wreath on a makeshift stand on the ground. "That's our target?" I ask. "Yeah." mummy says.

When mummy teaches me how to hold the bow, with the arrow on the string, it becomes pretty easy. The most difficult part is actually to concentrate and focus on the target. However, my first shot is good as the arrow tears through the leafy wreath. "You hit the target. Good one." mummy smiles. Sometimes it is a rarity to see mummy smile. Most of the time she keeps a straight face or scowls especially at Uncle Haymitch when she is not in a good mood. I keep practicing, shot after shot. Ten shots later, archery becomes as easy as a piece of cake. I hit the bullseye with a twang of my bowstring and yhe crack of the shattered twig. "Well done!" mummy praises me. I feel proud of myself.

Suddenly, we both here a cry coming from the Seam, the section of District 12 where mum used to live at. "Something's wrong." mummy frowns.


	4. Chapter 4: The creature at the Hob

Chapter 4

I find myself hurrying behind mummy as she darts back to the fence, through the door, past the Victor's Village where home is and into the bustling streets of the Seam. Her eyes widen at the sight of a damaged Capitol hovercraft lying squarely outside the Hob, dad goes shopping for bakery ingredients to experiment with. A crowd has already gathered, and Uncle Gale and Uncle Haymitch are helping some strong workers carry five wounded Peacekeepers out of the vehicle. The captain of the Peacekeepers, a trooper wearing armour that used to be white, but now is bespattered with blood and mud, speaks up. "We have seen an enemy that is maybe not far from here. Do not panic, but please cooperate. We were sent as scouts to check on this unknown enemy, but it shot us down."

It? What is that, a mutt? Worried glances are exchanged and some start whimpering In the crowd. "Anyway, you don't have to be afraid. Soon more Peacekeepers will come here to set up defences and perimeters. My team and I did not see the enemy although it fired at us." the captain tried to sound as calm as possible. "But don't worry. Please cooperate, and go back in your homes. There will be a special broadcast on television and radio shortly." As the crowd dispersed quickly to go to the safety of their homes, mummy goes to the captain and is about to say something when he gives a wild yell of terror. A thin creature with bright lights as its eyes and metallic fingers and body leaps out from the ruins of the hovercraft. It grins evilly at us and his fingers turn into circular razor-sharp blades. I let out a scream and try to run away. But Uncle Gale appears out of the blue with a gun and shoots the creature with a deafening bang. One eye of the monster bursts into sparks, but it's still alive.

It launches the razor disks at Gale, but mummy pushes him away in a flash. The discs miss her by millimeters. The Peacekeeper captain pulls out another gun, a rifle, and blasts at the creature. Chunks and sparks fly off the creature and it screeches at us in a high piercing voice, speaking some kind of foreign language. Then it launches itself at mummy, who is far enough to fire some arrows in an attempt to defend herself. Some manage to lodge themselves in the advancing creature's chest, but if it were not for the arrow from my bow, the creature could have thrown its razor discs at mummy.

My arrow, fired from my bow in a frenzy of fear and pressure, takes out the remaining bright blue eye of the monster. It screams out loud, and it's metallic body convulses with something like oil pouring out of it. Then a bright explosion follows, and mummy leaps in to shield me from the blast of the explosion with her body. But only a few bits of charred metal land on her back. "It's dead." the captain cries out. What is left is something like a petrified tree, only metallic with oil running down from it's head. The wreck of a creature squeals and collapses in a charred mess.

Uncle Gale edges towards the dead creature and gives it a kick to make sure it's dead. No response. It looks as if it had been stuck in the oven at home for a day. I find myself shivering with fright and in a cold sweat. My heart is screaming like the monster when it was alive a while ago. I cling on to mummy, who holds on to me tighter. "It's alright. It's dead." she says. Her grey eyes try to conceal her fear for me. I can only ask her one question:

"What mutt is that?"

* * *

Daddy and Bagel are both shocked to see us two coming back looking as if we had been in the rebellion to oust President Snow. "What happened?" daddy says, looking as surprised as he did whenever Uncle Haymitch gives him a winning lottery ticket, only to find out it was fake. While I tell him everything, mummy goes upstairs without a word to me, daddy or Bagel. When I finish, mummy returns with an armful of weapons. She tosses a rifle to daddy and says in a serious tone, "Peeta, get Buttercup indoors. There's some kind of monster near the District, and I want Bagel and Jay indoors for now. A curfew's been declared anyway. There's enough food here for two weeks, also. It'll be sufficient until the Peacekeepers come along to set a defence perimeter."

Daddy only nods. "Stay with the kids, Peeta," says mummy. "Times are now as uncertain as before. We may have to go back to action as we did in the old times. For now, please take care of the kids. I have to be in action outdoors." I look at my mummy. She's wearing a black armour, with a hood behind her head. I know what she is wearing, from the pictures in my History textbook. The Mockingjay suit. But this one is different. This one has flame accents, and there is more armour platings. And she is not having a bow slung over her back. It's a mechanized crossbow, gold and deadly.

Daddy seems to understand that she's the Mockingjay. She's always the Mockingjay. "When will you come back?" daddy asks as he gives her a hug. All of a sudden, mummy looks so fragile that she looks like a glass bowl after Uncle Haymitch is on a 'drunken rampage'. Tears spring to her eyes. "Soon. But I have to make sure our home, and the District is safe." she says in a broken voice. Mummy hugs Bagel first, and admonishes him to take care of his little sister and help his dad, and then turns to me. But my arms are already around her. "Can I come along? I can help you with my bow, and..."

"Jay, you may have adequate knowledge of the bow, but I don't want anything to happen to you, or Bagel, or daddy. I love you all, do you understand?" her voice softens as a tear runs down her cheek. I know from her sad eyes that just at the very sight of the dead creature, she is very, very worried about us. Mummy loves us very much.

She kisses us all and says, "Goodbye. I'll come back if everything is fine." Then she disappears out of the house as curfew sirens blow throughout District 12 with a mellow urgent sound.


	5. Chapter 5: The First Decepticon Attack

Chapter 5

It's been three days since that creature appeared from the downed hovercraft ft at the Hob. Mummy has managed to come back now and then to see us and bring us food. I see Peacekeepers everywhere from my window, bringing supplies here and there, or putting up sandbags everywhere with machine guns and rocket launchers. Hovercrafts patrol the skies. There's no sign of the enemy that the captain saw, so we are still staying here for now. Maybe we will have to evacuate if things get serious.

Mummy brings us news that the remains of the monster have been tested in the Capitol by Uncle Beetee, who is Panem's most famous scientist and inventor, and another of mummy's friends in the Games and the Rebellion. and it is actually entirely made of metal like hover crafts and tanks. And that is where my Chemistry class helps. The samples of the creature or robot, as they call it, contains metals that are not in our periodic table, except for iron and phosphorus. A majority of the inner body parts are mildly radioactive, and something like crushed diamonds have been found in the chest cavity. When Uncle Beetee tested it, it apparently made his phone into a monster like the creature (mummy told us to keep this a secret). After his cell phone monster was captured in a cage, he deduced that the monster was a robot, and the diamond things were actually a kind of energy source. The oil that spilled from the carcass was not oil, but energon, a rare kind of fuel only newly discovered by Uncle Gale on an expedition to a crater made by a rock from space near District 8.

I feel more worried about mummy than the things that are happening now. I hope she's fine. Bagel and I miss her very much. And daddy sometimes shuts himself in his room and paints pictures of mummy. He does that whenever mummy is not in the house. I think he misses mummy more than we do. But Bagel keeps me occupied by asking me to help him bake cookies for mummy when she comes to visit us. It's more fun than archery in a way. You don't kill things in bakery.

One night, I am awakened by daddy, who looks more tensed up than ever. I have never seen him look so scared for me and Bagel before. "Get up! Quickly dress up and take only what is important! District 12 is under attack." he says before hurrying to Bagel's room to hurry him up. I dress up in my brown jacket and grab my bow and arrows for protection. Daddy looks a little surprised, but he buttons up his jacket, grabs his rifle and brings me and Bagel out of the house. Uncle Haymitch awaits in an old vsn outside. "Hurry up! Some kind of big giant monsters as tall as the Justice Building have broken through the fence. I saw them fighting with the Peacekeepers. Hop in and let's go!" he bawls. For once he is not drunk.

Buttercup darts into Bagel's arms in time as we clamber in. The van dives off in a jiffy. "Where are we going, Haymitch?" asks daddy, who looks amazingly calm despite the tension. "To the evacuation point. It's at the Hob. The monsters haven't gone there yet. But I think I saw one that could fly when I was hurrying back from the bar, firing machine guns like pow! Pow! Pow!" he imitates the robot. Daddy takes my hand into his and finds my palm is sweating. "Are you scared?" he asks. "I'm more scared for mummy." I whisper. "She'll be fine. I promise." daddy says. Haymitch grins and says, " And how about you, Bagel? For me, I have nothing to fear. Just a bottle of beer, and everything's fine." Just then, his eyes widen and he slams on the brakes, forcing the van to a screeching halt. "What the-" he says in disbelief.

"Hello, insects of the human hive." sneers the humongous robot in front of us. He looks like a grasshopper himself, except that he has wings on his back. He must be the one that Haymitch saw while he was hurrying to get back. I don't scream in fear, but I grab hold of Bagel's hand tightly. "Reverse! Turn back!" yells daddy in a voice I have never heard before. Haymitch obliges, and the van screeches backwards, before turning around and escaping from the advancing sneering monster. The robot yells, "I am Starscream! And not a single insect will escape from Lord Megatron's grasp!" A machine guns retracts from its arm, and before it can shoot, something bright yellow, as I peer at the behind window, leaps out of nowhere and barrels itself into the robot. A confused mixture of language and creaks follow. "Daddy, what was that?" Bagel asks, as the van drives off into the darkness.

"I don't know, but I think that that wasn't the Capitol soldiers." he says.

* * *

Katniss's story (the Mockingjay, that is)

"Who could have expected this?!" I sputter, as I dodge a missile from that heavily armoured robot with a cannon. Gale roars, "Reload!" The Peacekeeper next to him pushes in another shell into the artillery cannon, and another discharge of flames follows. The robot is hit on the left of its chest, but it is not good enough. It retaliates by spending a volley of machine gun fire. But a payload from a passing hovercraft lands near it, blasting it's right side and knocking it off its feet. The robot turns into a big army tank and retreats. I have no idea what kind of creatures they can be. They turn from cars and planes into robots, and then back again. The commanders have termed the enemy as 'Decepticons' as the robots' leader, Megatron keeps roaring, "The Decepticons will wipe out the human hive. We will crush you!"

That sneaky thin manikin, which is about as tall as a child, whom the Decepticons call 'Frenzy', fires razor discs similar to those of that creature's. They hit several Peacekeepers and damage the artillery cannon, cutting off huge chunks of metal. "Damn!" Gale curses, and throws a grenade at the inhuman object. The ensuing explosion forces it to retreat as well. "Let's go! But keep firing!" I cry as I fire more explosive darts from my crossbow. It's new, invented by Beetee only recently. One of my darts hit the throat of a Transformer armed with a laser pistol. It coughs and its head comes off. The robot collapses into a pile of barrels containing liquor, which blow up. More hovercrafts fly over us to rain down destruction over the monsters.

I run into the town square with Gale, where I meet Darius. His left arms is in a bandage, and he's carrying a screaming baby in one arm. "There's still a lot of survivors from the explosions of the meteors. We have to get them out of here." he yells over the ensuing chaos and sounds of explosions. The meteors were actually the Decepticons, which started to wreck havoc and destruction. Armed with cannons and laser weapons, they laid waste to the Justice Building, the shops and the medicine factories. If it were not for our early defensive measures, they would have done more damage. President Paylor ordered the biggest deployment of military units ever since the Rebellion. Soldiers are pouring in from the Districts to suppress the threat. So far, we are doing OK. Ten Decepticons have been downed by air strikes and ground forces.

More robots of Frenzy's size are bounding at us. I shoot one down, and Gale breaks a head with a swift motion of the butt of his gun. A Peacekeeper blows one of the robots' circuits out with a shot from his shotgun. Frenzy growls and a helicopter, a vehicle that North America used for war and transport long before Panem used hovercrafts, swoops in. It transforms into an immense behemoth and pulls off its rotors before blasting the ground with a sonic boom. It is so powerful that all the windows of the buildings break and the street lights that are not damaged by fireballs black out. "I would name that robot 'Blackout'." says Gale.

Blackout fires two rockets at me and Gale, but we both roll away and I fire more darts at his head, which is the surest weak point. The Decepticon merely knocks off my darts with its rotor weapon, but a tank shot fells it, providing us enough time to scamper after Darius. He is herding the frightened civilians to rescue trucks protected by Peacekeepers on armoured cars. A little girl about Jay's age faints and is carried by her grandpa. I think briefly about Bagel, Jay and Peeta who must have been evacuated by now. Haymitch promised me he would get them to safety when he ran into me at the bar, where the leader of these Decepticons, whom they call Megatron, burst in. Megatron is a real menace, but he took off to leave his soldiers to fight for him when the hovercrafts arrived.

Greasy Sae looks confused. She's had a stroke early this year and is taken care by her grown-up daughter, who is now normal. "It's OK. Gale, take care of her." I say as I help a weeping man carry his injured wife. A plasma blast from nowhere vaporizes a nearby Peacekeeper, setting off people into panic, and guns blazing. Children scream and cry while adults look as pale as death when Megatron, the menace of the Decepticons and the enemy himself lands with a thud in front of us. The nearby tank fires, but Megatron dodges the fiery she'll easily and takes it out with a blast from his ion accelerator weapon.

"Nightlock." I say to myself.


	6. Chapter 6: Good or Bad?

Chapter 6

Katniss's story

Megatron leers at me. "I will crush and turn you, the human insects, to dust." I look at his murderous eyes. His body looks harder than steel, and every part of him has 'tyrant' written all over him. His mouth looks ready to take a bite at me, even though I don't think his mouth is designed for that purpose. "What do you want? Why would you want to come and crush us, the so-called human insects?" I challenge.

Megatron grins. "Plucky insect. Who are you, I wonder?" he says. Gale is about to yell for me to get back, but he seems to see no reason in doing so, and instead quietly and quickly hustles the civilians into the trucks. "My name's Katniss Everdeen." I continue to speak. "Please to meet you." The evil creature laughs a really evil laugh. "I must admit, you are really daring. Why do I come here, to crush and plunder your cities? Well, it is because that I am here looking for someone called the Mockingjay. My master, the Fallen has ordered me to find her and kill her before she makes a menace of herself."

Yeah, I can see that you are a menace yourself. "Well, I haven't seen her in quite a while, but after seeing your Decepticons, I wonder why do you keep shooting buildings? Surely you can't hit an easy target, say a Peacekeeper?" I taunt the tyrant. The malevolent and satanic creature growls and roars, "I am Megatron, the almighty and powerful! I will show to you that I, Lord Megatron can show you what I can do!" With that, he aims his weapon at a car nearby to show me his superb trajectory. But I have other plans for him. While his eyes are turned from me, I silently take out an explosive grenade and hurl it at the robot' head. The explosion sends shards of shrapnel that creates a crater at the side of his face. Megatron is taken completely by surprise and falls onto the car he was taking aim at.

I aim my crossbow, in one hand, and my grenade launcher in the other at the beast, and fire at will. It is great that my grenade launcher is battery-charged and my crossbow still has lots of ammo, as I'm going to shoot this Decepticons until he's nothing but scrap metal. Streams of fireballs and explosive darts slam into the Decepticon leader's chest and limbs as he groans and attempts to get up. "Decepticons!" he finally bawls as I shoot a dart that hits him in the gut.

His lieutenant, the lecherous Starscream swoops down, breaking a a lamppost and a tree in the process of landing. Another Decepticons, whom Starscream calls Skywarp teleports right next to him. I have I time to lose. I fire an explosive dart at Starscream, who dodges it. In response, Skywarp blasts me with his machine gun ports. I gasp and roll away from the flying sparks and shells. But I get up in time to send a fiery grenade at him. Skywarp darts back, but the grenade hits his side anyway. He does not look pleased. A new idea hits me. without giving the two winged robots and Megatron, who is trying to get up like a baby, I rush between the legs of Starscream as fast as I can. He attempts to step and crush me, but I slide through just moments before his right foot stomps on the ground, screaming and blasting at his gut with my grenade launcher and crossbow.

The result is a screaming infuriated Decepticon, leaping about with his gut in flames. I remember one new upgrade of my suit: jet boots. "Fire lock." I say, and voila, my combat boots shift in form to reveal energy vents at the sides of my heels. I take off into the air with a blast of gases. I throw away my clip less crossbow and take out my metal bow and put an explosive arrow to the string. "Not bad," Megatron growls. "The last time a human outwitted me, he was cowardly and backed by those puny Autobots." He draws himself to his full height and swipes at me with his dangerous claw, but I dodge it. "Who are the Autobots?" I ask.

Just as Megatron opens his mouth, a red and blue truck screeches from the darkness. It transform into a robot as strong and big as Megatron himself. But this one looks less evil and cruel. A roar comes from Megatron and the red and blue robot, apparently an Autobot, unleashes his blades and starts pummeling him, Starscream and Skywarp. He's skillful and powerful. He chops off Skywarp's left leg, knocks the Decepticon lieutenant senseless and sends Megatron crashing into a car repair shop that erupts in a bursts of flames. Another Autobot, looking more like a young kid than a robot, all yellow in colourcomes along. "Prime? Are you alright?"

The big robot's attention is not on him. "Hello, soldier. I'm Optimus Prime." He says in a kinder voice than Megatron's. "I am the leader of the Autobots. We'll help you fight off the Decepticons. That is Bumblebee, our scout. He'll cover us, as we get out of here. More Decepticons are coming this way and the Dinobots won't be here until dawn." I only know that for once, this robot isn't going to crush me like a bug.

Megatron tries to arise, but Bumblebee tosses an incendiary device onto him. While the Decepticon curses as he is engulfed in flames, Optimus, Bumblebee, both in vehicle mode, and I with my jet boots on, make off for somewhere else that is not crawling with Decepticons.


	7. Chapter 7: The Battle at Coal Corner

Chapter 7

"You come from another Earth? Wow, we have company." I joke as we make off through the woody part of the District. Optimus is leading me and Bumblebee to Coal Corner, where a defense sector of the Peacekeepers is located. Prime had explained that they were Transformers, mechanical beings which come from a place called Cybertron. Megatron used to be Lord Protector, but the Fallen turned him into a force for evil. Optimus then mustered an army called the Autobots, to free their home. The war that followed devastated Cybertron and things carried on to Earth, the other Earth. The life giving essence of the Transformers, the Allspark, had been launched on a trajectory to Earth. And a guy named Sam Witwicky helped the Autobots defeat the Decepticons and destroyed the Allspark in the process.

Now, the Fallen seems to have joined forces with an unknown nemesis, who offered him power and might in change for his support. This nemesis seems to want my head. "We came here through a portal. It's like a door." Bumblebee says. "This nemesis must be really unusual to summon goons from another world." I say. Optimus does not answer, but he transforms into his robot more to block a plasma blast from Megatron's cannon with his sword. "Bumblebee, protect the human!" he orders as a protective visor slams shut at his mouth. Bee responds by firing loads of rockets at Starscream and Skywarp, who come thundering down from the hill. I dart past a few pine trees and send an EMP arrow at Megatron's head. It explodes just a few centimeters from his face, and Megatron is temporarily distracted. The Autobot leader punches him on the chin and goes down with him, pummeling him as if there is no tomorrow. Starscream leaps over a startled Bumblebee and attempts to claw his head to pieces airborne. But he does a somersault and his legs catches the Decepticon's head and sends him crashing to the ground head-first.

Skywarp teleports behind him and is about to do him a mischief when I charge at him with my jet boots powered to the max. I give my best kick at the Decepticon's back, which feels harder than steel. But Skywarp staggers forward to meet Bumblebee's punch. I fly out of the way as Skywarp crashes into a tree containing a tracker jacket nest. Sure enough, the mutt bees burst out from their hive to sting the robot. While he howls and curses this 'wretched planet', swiping at the air to ward off the tiny demons attacking him with their razor-sharp stingers, we both hurry to assist Prime, who is struggling with Megatron. Megatron proves his actual might and cruelty by pulling out a barbed mace and whacking Optimus on the head with it. Thy Autobot responds by firing his side cannons at his chest, but the Decepticons moves on despite having a cracked breastplate. Bumblebee throws himself on him, but Megatron knocks him away into an oak. Then Megatron sends Optimus flying with a blast from his ion weapon once more.

He turns on me with a growl and transform into a terrifying jet. Before I can say 'jabberjay', the monster bashes into me with its wing against my chest and sends me flying into Coal Corner and crashing into a barricade of sandbags. The startled Peacekeepers open fire at Megatron, but he silences most of them with his lightning missiles, which explode with a high pitched sound like a whistle's. The others retreat in fear and terror. He grins at the humans' actions and then fixes his animalistic eyes on me. Starscream limps out from the woods with a smile as evil as his boss's. Skywarp appears in a flash around the corner, holding a piece of Prime's sword in his battered fist. What did he do to him? I look at myself and find myself as battered as a building in the Capitol during the Rebellion. My whole body is aching, but my armour has done a pretty good job of cushioning 90% of the effect of my landing. However, my suit is cracked all over and sparks leap out now and then.

"You know, you aren't such a puny insect as we thought." say Skywarp with a sneer. "However, that doesn't gives you an excuse for us not to finish you off. You are still a bug, like the others." Megatron chuckles at his warrior's bad humor and Starscream joins in as well. I struggle to get up, but my body fails me. Something warms trickles down my neck, and I think there is a big cut across my forehead. I can't feel my left leg. My fingers feel like jelly. In fact, every attempt at movement hurts. But I try to be brave and conceal the pain from showing up on my face, just like in the Games. On record, these are the worst mutts I have ever fought with, if they were mutts. Just then, another Decepticon comes in. "Bonecrusher! What have you got?" Megatron says. "More interesting insects!" the rusty cockroach sputters, spewing dark oil from his mouth. I stagger to my feet and look around. The Peacekeepers, to my horror, are retreating. Blackout fires a few more rockets that sends a few white-uniformed soldiers flying into the air, and then crashing onto the ground, breaking every bone in their bodies. Bonecrusher grins evilly and opens up a secret mini-prison, which is in comparison to a dog cage. When I see who is in the cage, my blood turns cold as ice and I feel like fainting or firing every arrow in my crossbow into Megatron's eyes.

Peeta is unconscious, probably knocked out by a rough bash from a Decepticon foot. Haymitch is cursing the Decepticons like a maniac. My children, Bagel and Jay, are simply helpless. Jay is still clutching her new bow and arrows in her arms. It could be the last thing I will give her before she dies at the hands of these metal-bodied fiends. Optimus Prime is preoccupied in battling Skywarp, and Bumblebee with Barricade. Two may be better than one, but two are merely two against a group of embittered blood-thirsty, oil-thirsty Decepticons. Megatron doesn't care about the two struggling Autobots or the retreating Peacekeepers. He merely looks at me, at Gale, and then at the prison cage containing my family and Haymitch. For once, he looks unlike President Snow with his snake-like eyes, except that he is as tall as the Justice Building. "As you can see, there are some young innocent in-...sorry," he sneers with his jaws looking more deadly than Finnick's trident. "...children." Starscreams finishes for him. "Yes. I am sure that you have had enough of killing and killing today." I roll my eyes. Now this monster is talking about discussions and parleys.

"Hey, you s******. The Mockingjay's gonna fight you, not have tea with you!" bawls Haymitch before Gale and I can stop him. "Besides, she'll teach you to come to Panem and blast s***! Right, Katniss?" Haymitch sounds plucky and snarky at the same time. Jay and Bagel cannot say anything. They, as young and innocent as they are, cannot do anything. "Mummy," she whimpers with fear. I sense her fear. Her fear is not just for her home and country in danger, but it is for her mother. The blood running from numerous cuts on her mother's face, the battered armour, cracked in thirty different places and a chunk of shrapnel piercing my left arm. Thank goodness I am right-handed, so I could still put an arrow in Bonecrusher's eye if I wanted to. My eyes turn upon the Boy with the Bread, and anger burns in me, ignited once more. Blood seeps from his head, dirtying his blond hair.

"What are we to do?" Gale whispers. He is definitely in a fix, given that the soldiers are deserting the battlefield here and there. "Take twelve steps back, turn around and get out of here because I am going to set the spark to a fire." "Fire? what fire?" Gale looks as if I had asked him to chop his left hand off. Before he or Megatron can react, I send a lightning shot from my crossbow at the oil tank at Barricade's feet. He is too occupied pummeling Bumblebee to notice the fiery bolt strike the tank. The explosion that follows toasts Barricade to cinders, knocks Bumblebee into Skywarp, bumping Optimus rather roughly, with his sword piercing Megatron's chest. and Blackout, shocked byt the sudden turn of events, accidentally sends his blades flying at Bonecrusher's head. The Decepticon is cleanly decapitated like a chicken at Rooba's stall. At that moment, Peeta awakes and Haymitch pulls him to his feet. "Gale, go get them away from here. I'll cover you!" I shout. My beloved kids run to me for safety instead of going to Gale, but I scream, "Duck!" Megatron's claw swipes over us, but Optimus grabs him by the throat and tosses him into a tree. More big robots bearing bright colours, like green and orange, turn up. The Autobots have arrived. One of them, a heavy looking veteran, whom Bumblebee calls Ironhide, growls, "It's time to rumble!" Then I activate my jet boots again and fly into this maelstrom of battle.

New Peacekeepers arrived, this time with new combatants. "The colourful guys are the good ones?" I hear Johanna's voice. "Oh great. I hope they can tell us what is going on after this." She seems to be manning a machine gun, because the rattle of bullets exiting a barrel accompanies her crude words. A very familiar trooper tosses a grenade at Megatron's face before Optimus contributes a punch in his awful face. "Darius?" I breathe. Starscream swoops down at me, but I send such a quick shot that he fails only too miserably to register the burning wing of his into his electronic mind. When he does, he squeals like a coward, "Get it off me! Get it off me!" he squawks before crash landing into another tracker jacker nest on top of a tall tree.

I have no time to feel any fear or concern even for my Peeta, Bagel and my Jay. I have to dodge every missile and bullet that comes in my way, and fire a few arrows or flaming grenades back in retaliation. More Decepticons emerge from the woods as meteors land on the ground with booms. But they are much weaker and more vulnerable to Peacekeeper weapons. Darius manages to blow out the spark core of a thin Decepticon armed with a plasma pistol with another grenade. Johanna shoots down that loser Starscream for the tenth time with the mounted machine gun on an APC as he tries to climbs into the sky, where he may rain destruction on us. A couple more Decepticons are either blown to bits or knocked senseless by a hail of bombs from more hovercrafts. Megatron, upon seeing that his Decepticons are facing defeat, bellows, "Retreat! Let Devastator come forward!"

When I see who comes out of the trees, trampling and smashing every smoking military vehicle and bush into smithereens, I can only say, "Nightlock."


	8. Chapter 8: Trouncing a Tyrant

Chapter 8

"This is even worse than the time the Gamemakers pulled out a large dragon mutt on the Tributes in the 34th Hunger Games!" groans Johanna. "These Decepticons are simply s*******s." I have no time to pay attention to her obscene words. I study this new humongous creature. Compared to the bears I fought in the woods, this one looks more terrifying! Megatron may be menacing and satanic, but Devastator, who is three times the size of the Justice Building and goes around on all fours, smashing and crashing everything he can see except the Decepticons, is like a Capitol mutt that does not have an off switch. It looks like the mechanized version of a lion mutt that was introduced in the 55th Hunger Games. But the moment it gives a roar and opens its large mouth that smells like burning oil, Gale shouts, "Get out of here, everyone!" We all obey him, knowing that all hell is about to break lose.

Darius and I narrowly leap into an empty APC just as a strange wind starts blowing. It starts with a guttural groan, and then chaos takes over. It is simply madness. District 12 hasn't had a hurricane in years ever since the days of North America, but I believe now that history is going to be changed. I look through the peephole of the APC and I am shocked when I see everything from a screaming Peacekeeper to a lonely car to an artillery mortar sent flying into the air and into Devastator's mouth. Devastator is literally sucking everything in its path. I call it 'it' because only an voracious animal could do such a thing.

I can see what is in his open mouth. Some kind of grinding generator, spitting out fiery fluids, is hard at work, grinding every fibre and metal that is drawn into Devastator's sucking vortex. Decepticon weaponry is simply unimaginable, designed specially for brutality and mass destruction. This is certainly the ultimate weapon, other than our nukes. I don't know where are Peeta and the kids. They must be hiding in the other APCs, which are thankfully too heavy for the vortex to attract. The Transformers are absent. Then I see Johanna holding on to Bumblebee's large hand as he clings onto a brazen structure of a guard tower near the coal mine. The tower quavers and shrieks, but it stands tall. She is cursing every Decepticon in Panem and Bumblebee is trying not to let her go. Ironhide, who is hiding behind Devastator simply combines his two big guns into a bazooka and blasts Devastator's back with an almighty kaboom. The colossus creature lets out a cry and turns on him clumsily, but then another roar, but more savage, comes out of nowhere.

The most wild, savage and uncivilized creature bounds in, with sharp teeth and flaming breath. It pounces on Devastator and is clinging on its leg in minutes, tearing chunks of metal and wires. "Grimlock!" Optimus says. He climbs out of the roofless shed he was taking cover in, only to be bowled over by Megatron. Then the Peacekeepers and the Autobots rush back into action and the battle begins again in full swing.

More Dinobots, as they call them, bound in. A flying reptile with gleaming wings, called Swoop, is assaulting Skywarp with thermal missiles like crazy. The Dinobot team, which are more Decepticon in nature than Autobot. They are tearing up Devastator like Haymitch to a Christmas turkey. Ironhide is exchanging more blows with Blackout and Bumblebee is supporting Darius's squad in fending a few Decepticons with laser rifles. But the Dinobots' presence have given a boost. Fierce as they are, they are some of the best fighters I have ever seen. Grimlock transforms into his robot mode, which is equally fearsome and pulls out a flaming sword. He then proceeds to slice off the arm of Shockwave, Megatron's right-hand man.

Shockwave lets out an angry shout and blasts Grimlock flying with his plasma cannon. Megatron again knocks Optimus to the ground, but before he can stab him with his murderous blade, I put three explosive arrows to my bow and send them all at one go at his face. The tyrant moans and groans as he falls backwards. With a whoosh into the air on my jet boots, I send a merciless string of arrows at him as he tries to retreat. The barrage of paladium-tipped arrows and semi-explosive arrows are simply too much to handle for even the most armoured monster. I target every valve or crack in his armour that could give way to a vulnerable weak spot.

To get better shots to hit him, I fly over him and in front of him. Megatron shoots at me with his ion weapon, but I dodge the blast of energy and fire back. The arrow explodes at his neck, destroying a couple of vital wires and systems that weakens Megatron badly. I know this because he roars, "Decepticons, fall back! Starscream, help me you traitor!" and struggles to get away from me rather than continue to try to eliminate me by swiping his deadly jaws at me or firing ion projectiles. For all I know, Johanna is punishing the winged Decepticon with her machine gun and her obscenities.

I continue to fire more arrows at Megatron. I must overcome him before he can react. But his energy is draining through the oil seeping from that wound at his neck. His arms droop to the side and he cannot find the strength to block my arrows. His head, especially his eyes are more vulnerable, so I take the opportunity to blind him directly with two paladium arrows. He screams in agony, but he is powerless. I have defeated the Decepticon leader. "Mercy! Mercy!" he pleads. "Optimus! You win! This in...humans are too powerful. Especially...this Mockingjay...her skill and accuracy...splendid!" I cut him short with another arrow at his neck, in return for a cry of agony.

"Katniss, enough!" It is not Optimus, but Peeta, of all people. I stop shooting, but my eyes are still on Megatron. "What?" I say. "You say mercy, did you? Well, you should have offered mercy to the poor innocent people that you and your Decepticons turned to ashes a few minutes ago. Last time I checked, you and your friends killed half the District and hundreds of Panem's finest troops who have families waiting for their return. And you want mercy, now?" I force back a laugh. "Please, don't make me laugh, because I am not in the mood for mercy especially with you!" my voice has risen to a shout. All the Decepticons have vanished, except for Starscream who is stuck in a tree full of tracker jackers again, Devastator who is in pieces, and Blackout who is pinned under Ironhide's weight. But every combatant, good or bad, has stopped to listen to me scream at Megatron.

"You probably didn't know that ninety years ago, the nation was ruled by tyrants like you! You! And they did the most wicked and bloodiest things ever, by sending kids to fight each other and die in a bloody arena. If you want to talk about mercy, I tell you that these whom you called insects haven't experienced mercy for seventy-five years. Seventy-five years!" I spit out. "You attacked the wrong place." I shake my head. "I am f******g disappointed in you."

Peeta's face looks ashen. Jay is at his side, shaking with tears in her eyes. "Mummy..." she whimpers. She has never seen her mother so angry before. Everyone is just looking at me and the fallen monster, I don't know why. "If he asks for mercy, we should grant him that, no matter what he has done." Optimus speaks up. Grimlock growls in opposition, but Swoop silences him roughly with a push of his wings that knocks him over. "For mercy, and freedom is the right of all beings. Although I do not condone harming the humans, I will grant Megatron mercy although he has not shown mercy, as we should do to others just what you want them to do for you. It is a principle that all beings should follow, for the better good."

I roll my eyes, but I lower my bow, looking at the battered Megatron. All of a sudden, a sudden burst of dust and energy sends everybody flying back, not including me, because my jet boots are still active. I raise my hand to shield myself from the dust flying at my face. Ironhide raises his eyes at the spiral tornado of darkness that sprouts from the ground like a reeking white rose in Snow's greenhouse and cries, "It's the Fallen! Brace yourselves, it's the Fallen!" Optimus draws out two orange swords and leaps at the cloud of evil wind, but he is knocked back by an insect-like creature with teeny-tiny fiery optical sensors full of hate and revenge. "The Fallen. My Master." says Megatron humbly, for once. His dark lord's features are scarier than President's Snow most snakiest smile, more horrible than the white lizard mutts in the battle of the Capitol and more cruel than Megatron's claws. He clutches a staff in his hand that looks like some kind of ancient artifact. All the Autobots and the Peacekeepers, including Gale and Johanna grab their weapons and attempt to attack him, but with a swift motion of his staff, some kind of invisible force, accompanied with a magnetic-like sound, pulls them up into the air. I can only stand on my two feet and look at all my friends being lifted into the air by unseen hands with horror.

This time, every vehicle is brought into the air. No one except the Mockingjay can stand firm on the ground and look at the Fallen in the eye. Optimus is equally helpless. He tries in vain to take a shot at his head with his plasma cannon although he is being held upside down. But the Fallen notices and sends everyone flying onto the hard ground. Tanks and vans just crash onto sheds and guard towers, scattering perplexes of glass and shreds of metal everywhere. Peacekeepers and Autobots land onto trees and into smoking craters. I see Peeta and Bagel falling into the open arms of Bumblebee just in time. But Jay flies into me, bowling me over. I wrap my arms around her to comfort her. "It's OK, I'm here. Mummy's here." I whisper. She's bawling like a baby. My kids shouldn't be here. They should have been in an evacuee helicopter, heading to District 10. Guilt hits me like a bullet. But all the same, my resolve to fight against this terrible monster is strengthen with the presence of Peeta and my kids.

"Hey, hey hey! Look!" Peeta speaks all of a sudden. "Just let them go. If you want to hurt somebody, hurt me! Just let the other go, okay?" He is trying to protect everyone else, including the Autobots. Optimus Prime looks really battered, with a sharp shard of iron piercing through one arm. He is in no shape to continue leading the fight against the Decepticons. Megatron grins and gets up shakily to join his master. The Fallen glances at his apprentice, Megatron, at the vulnerable insects or humans and the battered Autobots. Then he catches my eye. "I think I will choose someone else, humble insect." the Fallen growls and slams his staff on the ground.

Instantly, Jay, who is still in my arms, and I are both teleported to the front of the Justice Building in District 12.


	9. Chapter 9: The Last Arrows-for Jay

Chapter 9

Jay and I tumble onto the hard cobblestone pavement in front of the now smoldering Justice Building. The flames that burnt the brick building inside out have been long extinguished by fire fighters and the wind. However, I will make sure that this fire, which is me, will not be extinguished tonight, not at the cost of Panem, District 12 and my family. I look at my daughter and see her trying to keep her tears in. "Mummy, was that how you fought in the Games?" she asks out of the blue in a trembling voice. Now to think of it, I have never fought such a fierce battle before ever since I put an arrow in a monkey mutt's heart in the Quarter Quell. I can only think that this is far too early, far too soon to expose my children to such cruelty. I don't see anyone else except me and Jay. Now my kids have seen a blacker version of the war I fought in for the Capitol. I look at my daughter in the eye and say as softly as I can. "No. In the Games, I had to fight to survive against mutts and other Tributes. But now, I have to think of you, Bagel, your daddy and everyone else that matters to us."

"Mummy, I'm scared. I see people die." This isn't the first time I've heard her talk about dying. Jay has seen some things Bagel hasn't. While he's baking up a storm, she's observing me skinning dead deer or rabbits in the evenings. Death. A stillness. A coldness. An end. But I have told her that death won't be the end. We'll go to a good place after we die. I've seen it before. I have been there. I crouch down and kiss her cheeks and run my fingers through her long braided hair. It could be the last time I do that. The Fallen and Megatron could leap out of nowhere anytime. "I'm scared too." I admit. "For you, Bagel and daddy. I love you all so much. That is why I fight like that. I may look heartless and cruel, but I have to protect you all." I kiss Jay again. My girl looks happy for once and is about to say something when a giant tank breaks out through the Justice Building, treading bricks to dust and scattering all kinds of rubble. I use my back to shield Jay from the rain of stones. She closes her eyes so tightly that they may not open again. I brush off the dust from her hair and stand up to face the awful Megatron and his master, the Fallen.

"So they call you the Mockingjay." Megatron leers. He seems to have recovered his sight, courtesy of his master's 'magical' powers. He looks much less of a weakling than he was when he was at the mercy of my arrows. "Yeah. Excellent, my apprentice." the Fallen comments. "Even insects have a role model to look up to. But I can see that you are a more stubborn opponent than Prime. He is too much of a softy, like sludge metal. But as you have seen, I am all-powerful and I can crush you like a worthless fly." Worthless fly? Anger shoots out from the bottom of my soul. "What do you want?" I snap. "I want," the Fallen says thoughtfully. "to turn your bones to ashes, and then make your people slaves. For the last time I saw insects on another world like this, they fired rockets and bullets at me. So, I want to destroy you." His voice rises to a crescendo and Megatron laughs wickedly before firing a bright blast of lightning from his claw at me and Jay.

My daughter screams and covers her eyes with her hands, but I knock her off and let the blast blow me off the ground. I grunt with pain as I collapse onto the ground. Not wanting to show defeat, I leap to my feet and fire a smoke-grenade arrow. But the Fallen uses his teleportation powers to appear mystically behind me. I dodge the swipe of his staff and fire an explosive arrow at Megatron's crotch. He howls angrily as he falls backwards for the explosion onto a nice stone fountain which is still trickling with water. The man-made structure breaks up into a mess of cracked stones and puddles of water. I dodge another of the Fallen's attacks and reactivate my jet boots. I take off into the air, and before the Decepticon dark lord can react, I say, "Blaze snow.", which prompts my jet boots to turn into mini flamethrowers.

"Argh!" the vengeful alien shrieks as he is toasted by the ensuing flames. I quickly put three lightning arrows to my bow and fire them off at the Fallen's face. These lightning arrows have about one seventh of the power of the lightning bolt that hit the tree in the arena during the Quarter Quell. I remember deploying that very force of nature to free myself and Finnick from the arena. The Fallen attempts to teleport, but the arrows hit him anyway. The Decepticon is electrocuted alive and straggles about in circles. Before a sense of victory can form in my heart, Megatron brutally punches me with his fist and knocks me flat onto the ground. I feel as if the entire Cornucopia had been brought down on me and lifted from me both simultaneously in a second. Then the Fallen and him rally their energy weapons together and blast me flying.

When I come to, I cough out blood from my mouth and rub off more from my nose. I can hardly see with my right eye. It is blinded by more blood from a terrible gash above that eye. My armour looks ready to become scrap metal. I lift my torso up and sit up, only to see Jay hiding behind a pile of rubble. "Mummy!" she screams. For a moment, Megatron and the Fallen look as if they had enjoyed a banquet at Snow's mansion, and then laughed together. "Oh...this is where is gets better, Master." Megatron says. "Excellent, my apprentice. Now we have another easier prey to destroy." the Fallen smirks. Despite the agony of my worst injuries, I say loudly, "You are never going to hurt Jay." The two Decepticons turn to me, looking rather surprised. "She's my daughter, and I am going to teach you to find easy prey to kill."

At that moment, Skywarp morphs out of the sky and joins the two Decepticon fiends to battle against me. As the three monsters charge at me, I decide in a matter of seconds that I will deal with each one separately and swiftly. With a blast of my jet boots, I take on Skywarp, who opens fire with his machine guns. I dodge in time to see the berylium-tipped bullets smack onto the Fallen's chest by folly. As the look of horror comes to Skywarp's face, I give his nasty head a good kick and an arrow at his neck, decapitating him effectively. As the Decepticon air trooper collapses with an almighty thud, I turn on Megatron, who transforms into his menacing tank mode, which looks more like a bramble bush and Snow's cache of nukes mixed together. But I am unfaced. The Fallen teleports in front of me all of a sudden, but I zoom over him, and then pass Megatron as he opens fire with his plasma cannons. Again, the Fallen has obviously not learned his lesson, as the plasma shots land squarely at his side as he leaps for me. Megatron growls and transform back to robot mode before stabbing his immense blade at me. I throw a grenade or two at his face in retaliation. One of the bombs actually bounces off him and blows off the Fallen's left leg, who is standing to close for comfort.

Cursing me, the Fallen reappears behind me and fires such a blast of energy that I nearly get barbecued. My hand reaches for an arrow, but my heart leaps with shock when I find that my quiver is spent. Only a lonely lightning arrow remains, but I decide to save it for the last. I remember my grenades and hurl the last three at the Fallen. One of the hand bombs must have been a Lava-type, courtesy of Beettee, because a flash of red bursts out and the Fallen is half incinerated. As he staggers away to recover, Megatron leaps into the air, roaring as loudly as a lion does before a kill. I narrowly avoid his pincer claw weapon and kick him on the leg. The special reinforcing on my jet boots, specially designed for melee combat, helps as I break off a chunk of metal in the process. Then I do an amazing aerial somersault over Megatron's surprised face and with my jet boots still blazing, my right foot lands squarely at his right eye. Time seems to slow down as his face changes from surprise to agony as my foot smashes through the outer structure of his face and into the electronics and valves beneath his evil face. With my jet boot still in his head, I maximize the jet blast to a crescendo and incinerate the insides of his head.

I don't remember anything else, except that I fell back down onto the hard ground to see Megatron's head blow up, scattering fiery chunks of lava-like material and oil. The headless Decepticon tyrant gropes about and then gets the message that he is dead, before tilting to his side and falling down with a great clatter. At first, all is silent. I get up to my feet, walk over to the defeated monster and prod him with my foot. I realise this: _I have just defeated the leader of the Decepticons, Megatron_. I laugh a little, then thoughts of Jay, Bagel and Peeta pop in. And Haymitch and Gale. They must be hurrying down here with the others. Optimus will be surprised to see that this human could defeat a giant.

Jay runs out of her hiding place to meet me. "Mummy, you did it!" she cries out. I beam at her and I am about to run for her when the Fallen, who has been hiding all this while, skids in front of me, blocking my girl from reaching me. "You are doomed, now!" he booms, to the screams of Jay. Fear for my child's life, not mine, shoots into me. I am too slow to dodge the bludgeon he carries in his hand. I scream with agony as I crash onto a nearby lamp post. _That's it_, I tell myself, _you are done for_. My strength is gone in a thrice, and every part of my body feels pain and numb at the same time. I cannot move my legs, therefore killing every option of escape. My jet boots are fried. I take out the last lightning arrow from my quiver, put it to my bow and prepare for death as the Fallen advances. Jay watches helplessly from a distance, too scared to weep. I look at her brown eyes, equally powerless. I don't want her to see her mother die. "Close your eyes, Katniss Jr." I say, using her real name. She obeys me, shaking like a leaf. I see a metal coil coincidentally tied to the pole. I tie one end to the arrow as a fork of lightning hits the lamp post adjacent the one near me.

It's like the time I directed lightning from the tree to the arrow to blow up the shield in the arena. I am doing the same thing. The Fallen is only too battered now, with oil seeping out of twenty different places from multiple wounds. I tie the arrow to the coil and put it to my bow. The Fallen looks down at me, and smiles. He may grin all he likes now, but let's see who will get the last laugh. "Any last words?" he asks with a leer.

"Do you?" I question defiantly as the lightning hits the lamp post and electricity travels through my wire coil into the lightning arrow. I scream as my hair stands on end and I release the charged arrow into the heart of my enemy with an almighty bang.


	10. Chapter 10: The Mockingjay's Last Song

Chapter 10

Katniss Jr.'s story

"No!" I scream as my mummy is electrocuted by the bolt of lightning. The robot is burnt alive and explodes into a million burning smithereens. What is left of him is just a skeleton dripping with dark oil. It gives a creak and collapses into a heap of melting metal. He must have had too much fuel in him for that to happen. But my mind is on my mortally injured mummy, who lies motionless near the lamp post. Sobbing, I take the bow out of her limp hands and push my mummy as far and gently as I can from the lamp post. "Mummy, wake up. Please don't die." I beg her as I kneel at her side, my tears running non-stop. She makes no response. Her eyes are closed. Her lips look so cold and blue. "Don't die. Please! I can't live without you!" I implore her. I bury my face in her arms, bruised and cut and blackened with the dirt of battle, and weep. I kiss her broken fingers and then I look at her face, bleeding all the more. Nothing can describe my sadness and pain at losing my mummy. "Please, don't leave me. Let me die with you. I don't want to be alone here. Everyone will miss you. I love you, mummy." I say between sobs.

A groan escapes from my mummy's lips. Her eyes flutter open. "Mummy?" I ask. She looks so calm and even angelic. My mummy has turned from a fighter to...my mummy. Peaceful. Soft. Loving. Her right arm wraps around my neck and draws me down so that I am lying down next to her. "I'm so sorry. So sorry." she whispers gravely. "I couldn't protect you from seeing such terrible things." "I should be the one that is sorry. I couldn't save you, mummy. I was so scared." I say. At this point, I start crying again. Mummy only smiles weakly and wipes away my tears slowly. "It's all right. It's all right. Jay, I tell you the truth, my time is short. I'm going to-"

"Please don't die!" I burst out and hug mummy. While I cry into her chest, mummy says soothingly, "It's alright. I'm not going to die. Death, is not the word. And yet, death is not the end. Remember what I have told you. We all go to a good place when our time comes. And we'll still have memories in our hearts for our loved ones who go. Remember Aunt Prim? I still remember her, even now. She's waiting for us up there, wanting us join her in that beautiful place. I have been there before too. You remember?" "A green meadow and flowers. And rabbits," I say. "But daddy, Bagel and I will have no mummy. No mummy to talk to, to laugh with and to sleep with. Especially daddy." A moment of pain registers across her face for a split second. But it passes quickly. "I'm sorry," mummy says. "We cannot choose the time we go. It is up to the One up there. But we can choose the memories we want to leave behind in the hearts of our loved ones. And in that way, you'll have something to remember you mummy by. I know it will be lonely. I fell like that when your grandpa died. But I will be with you, through your memories."

"But I don't want you to leave me! I will miss you so much." I cry. "Me too." mummy says, with more tears brimming in her eyes. "I will miss you too, up there."

We spend the next few minutes lying side by side, mother and daughter. I am so sad, yet so happy to be with my mummy before she goes. "Want to hear a song?" mummy asks out of the blue. How can I refuse to listen to my mother sing, especially when she's dying? It would be like denying her last wish. Well, it is her last wish. And last song.

So my mummy, the Mockingjay, whom many call Katniss Everdeen, sings her last song,

_Down in the valley, the valley so low_

_Hang your head over, hear the wind blow_

_Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind blow;_

_Hang your head over, hear the wind blow._

_Roses love sunshine, violets love dew,_

_Angels in Heaven know I love you,_

_Know I love you, dear, know I love you,_

_Angels in Heaven know I love you._

_If you don't love me, love whom you please,_

_Throw your arms 'round me, give my heart ease,_

_Give my heart ease, dear, give my heart ease,_

_Throw your arms 'round me, give my heart ease._

_Build me a castle, forty feet high;_

_So I can see her as she rides by,_

_As she rides by, dear, as she rides by,_

_So I can see her as she rides by._

_Write me a letter,'Send it by..._

Mummy stops singing, too overcome by emotion. Her life is draining away slowly and painfully. I wrap my arms around my beloved mummy. I rest my head on her chest. "I love you, mummy." I say in a broken voice, tearfully. I know she will be gone soon, and that...that...I just don't want to think about that. All I want to do is to spent as much time as possible with my mummy in her dying seconds. "I love you too. When I am gone, it's OK to cry for me. Just take care your daddy, Bagel and yourself." mummy says in an equally broken voice. Her left hand strokes my braid gently as we both fall asleep, one to a sleep that would last forever.

* * *

Peeta's story

I leap out from the van the moment it halts. We have reached the town square at last. Peacekeepers swarm throughout the area, armed to the teeth. Optimus Prime has his cannon ready, looking out for any more Decepticons. But the remnants of the varmints are long gone, to goodness knows where. "Search the area!" the commander orders. Johanna runs to the middle of the square, only to stop cold. I go up to her and I see my Katniss lying dead with our daughter Jay at her side. "Katniss! Jay! No!" I scream. Bagel runs up, looking as white as a ghost. He finds that his sister is only asleep and carries her to the van. Meanwhile, I just hug Katniss and scream, "Don't die! No! Why?! Why?!" I just cry my eyes out as Johanna, the Peacekeepers and the Autobots look on. Bumblebee looks so crushed and Optimus so guilty. A medic arrives and attempts to resuscitate her in vain. He shakes his head after doing everything from CPR to jump start. "No. You can't leave me. You can't." I moan and hug Katniss tightly. Her eyes are closed...forever. However, she looks so serene even in death. Her lips are actually curved into a smile. I do not resist the urge to kiss them.

"I'm sorry. She's gone." the paramedic says gently and walks away. All the Peacekeepers, including Johanna and Gale take off their helmets and put them at rest to their sides, as a sign of condolence and respect. The Autobots just bow their heads, some in sadness and some in respect. Bumblebee just starts crying, shedding tears from his optics. For a couple of minutes, everyone is so sombre. "She's such a fighter." I say softly once I have cried myself out. "She fought in two Hunger Games and two wars. Yet she just couldn't escape death. No one can. Katniss had been through so much. So much. She suffered so much with me." I shake my head and kiss her cold lips.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Optimus Prime speaks. "I speak on behalf of the Autobots. We are very sorry that we could not protect her." "It's OK. We were outgunned." I say, trying make him not feel so guilty. "I have seen, that she is a worthy warrior. We will honour her as a heroine, a loving mother and wife and a loyal soldier to her country. Never have I, or the Autobots, seen such a spirited warrior. Now we know why you call her the Mockingjay. Katniss, not only she defeated many of the foe, but she also cast down the vile Megatron and the Fallen. If it were not for her deeds, this land would be nothing but dust." Everyone looks up to see her last amazing feat: defeating two of the most dangerous enemies of Panem. The headless corpse of Megatron, the melted remains of the Fallen. "Even I cannot achieve that feat. So, as a tribute to her sacrifice, of herself and ultimately her life, we, the Autobots, pledge to do everything to help protect you and we will do our utmost to ensure that her legacy will live on. For she is a noble warrior, one to be looked up to even when she is gone."

"That's very well." I say. "Thank you. Thank you for helping us." Gale and two Peacekeepers step in to help me carry my beloved Katniss to a waiting medic ambulance. I take off my jacket to cover her, but Johanna says, "You don't have to. Look. Even though she is dead, she still looks so...beautiful." She's right. There is such serenity on her face. Haymitch looks emotionless, but I know he is as sad as I am deep within him. He had been like a father to her all this while. "Hey, boy. Let's go home." he says. He pats me gently. Out of the blue, a mockingjay appears out of nowhere and perches on Grimlock's snout. He glances at it silently and makes no attempt to chase it off. The bird sings the four-note tune that Rue and Katniss used in the arena to tell each other that one was safe and sound, of all things. Then it flies away.

"Yeah, Katniss. You are safe and sound at last." I murmur.


	11. Chapter 11: Five Years Later

Chapter 11

**Five years later..**

Katniss Jr's story

I open my eyes to this dark and lonely world that I live in. I reach out for the clock on the bedside table and find that the arrow hands point to six o'clock. I force my stiff body up into a sitting position and run my fingers through my long unbraided hair. I vaguely remember my mother, who was the only one who loved me the most, tying my hair into a neat braid when I was a small child while humming a song. Her clever fingers, able to use a crude bow and to tie beautiful knots in my hair, I can still see them even with her absence. I remember her smile and her arms. Ever since the Decepticons robbed me of my mother, I have not being sleeping well. The only times when I get to rest in peace is when Buttercup, Aunt Prim's old pet who has come to live with us ever since Bagel found him near the Hob as a stray, cuddles next to me. My nightmares about losing my mother are replaced with good ones when I sleep with my mother's old jacket covering me as a blanket.

I take her brown jacket, the one she used to wear on a hunting trip, and hug it endearingly. It is all I have left of my mother, other than her bow and arrows, Buttercup, some of her clothes than my dad didn't feel like disposing and her Mockingjay armour, which she wore during that awful battle. It is now repaired and on display at Panem's Mockingjay Monument in the Capitol. Speaking of monuments, my mother was not buried in the place of her birth, but cryogenically frozen and put in a special glass casing at the Monument. People could come by and see her, and remember the heroine that saved the nation from President Snow and his Hunger Games, and the Decepticons, of course. In District 12 here, another smaller monument was built last year, just at the edge of the Seam. A gold statue of the younger self of my mother, with an arrow at the string, aiming at the sun, serves as a sign of freedom for the people, and for me...something to remember my mother by.

I cannot say how much my dad, Bagel and I suffered without her. Dad was so sad, he almost lost the bakery. But Uncle Haymitch and Aunt Delly, with Uncle Gale, supported us even now. Bagel remains as calm as ever even now. He is still a fun guy to play with, but whenever that incident is mentioned in front of him, he just shuts up for the rest of the day. Now dad can get up and live without crying or screaming for my mother to come back to him, but he still loves her too much. Once, I saw him painting pictures of him and mother together, in the old days. The paintings were...I can't say any more, I feel like crying.

I get up and get dressed. Buttercup is already awake, sniffing at my bow and arrows propped against the wall. I stroke his furry head and off he goes to find a rat. I open a cupboard and find a smaller but similar hunting jacket to my mother's. Oh, how I miss the days of hunting with my mother that never came anyway. I feel a tear running down my cheek and I brush it off. I put on the jacket and look at myself in the mirror. I see my young mother in the mirror, brave on the outside and fragile in the inside. My mother's gold mockingjay pin, which she wore in the Hunger Games as our district's token, sits on the dressing table in front of the mirror. "I miss you." I say, looking at the pin. Then I take it and plant a kiss on it before putting it back.

The house is as quiet as a stone. My dad is still sleeping, probably dreaming about my mother. He is putting a great effort in trying not to think so much of her and to bring up his two children as best as he can, but sometimes he whispers her name in his sleep. Bagel is oddly still in bed too, because no one is in the kitchen, baking bread or frying eggs for breakfast. I take my bow and arrows and head downstairs to the door, where I put on my combat boots. I push open the door and I am greeted by the cool morning air and the chirping of mockingjays. I whistle the four notes of my mother's call of safety to her friend, Aunt Rue in the arena, and some imitate me, chirping the familiar and heartwarming notes. "Safe and sound," I say. "but not me."

I make my way to the fence and enter the gate as my mother showed me so long ago. For a moment, I feel like my mother, at the age of sixteen. She was forced to turn to the woods to find food for Aunt Prim and Grandma, who were starving. Every morning, such as this one, she would enter the woods to hunt and trap prey for food. But for me, I go to the woods not just to hunt, but to find a temporary peace from all that pain and loss. For the woods also are all that is left of my mother. I see her nimble footsteps over large roots and steep rocks even now. I see her brown eyes, full of spirit, in every living creature in the woods. I stroll along, inhaling the fresh air and silently enjoy the little beauties of nature. I hear a stream running nearby, which sounds so clean. A bear, the same one that my mother chased off and also the very same one that came to her wedding, glances at me from afar. It has a cub with it. The bear sees me, growls and goes on its way, with its cub in tow. I see that bear on many days. It has become like some sort of neighbour to me, a silent companion. At least he doesn't claw to me to pieces like Megatron would have done.

Speaking of Megatron, the Decepticons retreated back to their own time. The Autobots followed them in pursuit, leaving behind Bumblebee and a veteran warrior called Hound to stay here to act as liaisons for them to communicate with President Paylor at the Capitol. The duo usually stay all the time at District 1, but sometimes they come here to pay their respects to my mother at the monument. The people don't mind them around, but Bumblebee always leaves too hastily before dad can invite them for some oil (if they were human, he would have offered them a drink), to the silent protests of Hound. He's still feeling guilty, to this day. Fail or not, in protecting my mother, I must say that you can't do much about it.

A sound jolts me to alertness. I turn my head and spot a rabbit. It is nibbling at a fallen leaf. I let it finish its food before I put an arrow to my bow and fire a quick shot. The arrow flies right into the eye of the animal. But as it rolls over and die, an image of my mother being knocked to the ground by Megatron's feast flashes pass my eyes. I barely manage to keep myself from fainting, but I put a hand to a nearby oak to steady myself. It happens whenever I kill something ,from a spider in the house to a squirrel on a tree. I make a mental note to shut my eyes whenever I take a shot, as I attempt to recover by gently inhaling and exhaling. My mother used to tell me of such flashbacks especially of the Games when she went hunting long ago after outliving twenty-plus Tributes. Nevertheless, by following my mental note, I manage to shoot a squirrel or two and a fish off a stream. I learnt how to polish up my archery skills once she was gone, using the rudiments my mother taught me. But no one, no one will be as good as her when it comes to hitting a bullseye.

My morning has a pleasant surprise when I find some nice flowers blooming at a stream. I create a neat bouquet with them and head back to the direction of the monument. I visit it almost every day, to weep over my loss and to tell my mother everything she has missed. If she had survived, we would be hunting together today, taking down a deer or laughing over a joke at breakfast if we were feeling too lethargic to hunt. I can only picture in my mind the dreamy days of being carried around by my mother as a little child, or playing peek-a-boo as a baby. I can still hear her laughter and see her happy eyes in the mockingjays that fly by me again. Once I arrive at the golden statue of my mother, Katniss Everdeen, who was the Girl on Fire and the Mockingjay, a lump forms in my throat. I calmly place the bouquet of flowers at the statue. A few bright yellow flowers and pink blossoms sit nearby. Obviously I'm not the only one visiting this place. You should see the bouquets placed at the statue on the day of her funeral. There was so much that it took Hound and Uncle Gale a week to clean up the dead withered flowers scattered about the vicinity. However, today I am alone. Otherwise, I would see Bumblebee looking so forlorn in his vehicle mode.

I look up at the youthful face of my mother and gaze fondly at her before I leave. She looks so valiant, even now as an item of stone and gold. "I love you, mum." I whisper. Deep in my heart, I will always cherish my memories with her even with her gone. I look up at the sky and say to the One looking after her, if He exists, and say, "Take care of my mum, please." I do this every time I visit the monument. I leave with a steady heart, for once.


	12. Chapter 12: Boring School

Chapter 12

"Katniss." the orderly and prudent voice of my Maths teacher, Mrs. Cynthia, cuts through my thoughts. I am in my boring drab lifeless school. Lifeless in the sense that half of the subjects you study are not applicable for life, unless you want to be like Uncle Beettee, who is some genius in the Capitol. He used to be a Victor of the Games. "Katniss, can you come up here and solve this equation?" I look up from my book and I notice that all eyes are upon me. Thorn, Uncle Gale's son, the boy who lives near my house looks anxious. The arrogant and snobbish class genius, Leo, who is actually a relative of the Tribute Cato, grins mockingly. My classmate sitting next to me, Andy, a soft-spoken boy like Bagel, whispers, "No one in this class has solved it yet for the past ten minutes, including Leo. I think you can do it." I roll my eyes and get up from my seat. _Of course I can do it_, I think angrily. To Mrs. Cynthia and the others in class, I look like a drudge, always seemingly distracted, but in reality, my eyes and ears are as sharp and alert as ever. I think I inherited hunter instincts from my mother.

I look at the equation on the board and take a chalk from Mrs. Cynthia. I remember seeing Leo attempting to solve it just now. He almost did, if not for an error in substituting an unknown. I don't know if my friends noticed that, but they all look as blank as white paper. After all, Mathematics is not exactly the favourite of the majority. Me included. But i can do it. I merely scribble some mumbo-jumbo, and when she checks my working, the look on her face simply makes me want to laugh. "That's correct, Katniss. You may return to your seat." she says in her usual orderly voice. "It is a good solution, which was almost achieved by Mr. Leo over there. Unfortunately, you missed out on that unknown, Leo. You should learn from Ms. Katniss, you know. She may look very plain, but she must not be underestimated. Ah, there goes the bell." After she exits the classroom, half the class come up to me to congratulate me on 'defeating' Leo in Maths. He disappears before anyone can stop him to ask what had happened to him that caused him to have such a major flaw. Andy smirks and pats me on my shoulder. "That was well. I knew it." he says, and leaves for the cafeteria. I shake my head and get up from my seat. Just as I approach the bustling locker rooms, Thorn passes by me. "Hey, Katniss. Want to join me later for recess?"

"OK." I say quietly. I admit, I don't have my social skills, like my mother when she was a teenager like me. But she somehow got wound up with Gale, my dad and a couple of Victors and Tributes, with the ex-Head Gamemaker and President Paylor. I go to the dull-looking counter to get some food. Today's special features pie. I take my filled tray and find a place next to Thorn. "So, what's up?" I ask. "It's not every day that someone asks me to join him for recess." It's true, and I mostly limit my relationship with friends to 'hi's and 'bye's.

"I asked my dad about the Games." he says. "And he told me about your mother." My eyebrows rise in surprise. "What did he tell?" I ask suspiciously. "Everything." Thorn says. "The days he hunted with your mum, fought with her during the Rebellion and so on." Yeah, I know that. But did he know about that kiss before the Tour? Dad only told me about it ages ago. I think it's kind of a sensitive issue. "What did he say next?" I ask. Thorn looks solemn at this point. "He broke down. Listen, Katniss..." "Call me Jay, please. And yeah, you have spoken a little too much." I finish his sentence for him.

"Anyway, Jay," he continues after a short pause. "he broke down and asked me to pass something that he had hoped to give your mum long ago to you. I know this is very strange out of the blue, but I love my dad and I want to do things for him." Now Thorn is like a messenger of some sorts. I chew the inside of my mouth and say,"Very well. You can pass it to me." Thorn reaches into his pocket and pulls out a nice shiny necklace, decorated with smooth wooden shapes and a silver mockingjay medallion. "He made it himself when he was young. I'm not supposed to say this, but you know, your mum must be pretty lucky to have a love triangle, two men looking out for her." I grin in agreement.

"Yeah. She was. But now she's gone." My grin fades away. Thorn touches my hand lightly. "I know. I'm sorry. It must have been hard even now." he says gently. I am about to say something in reply when we both see two Peacekeepers coming out of nowhere, heading towards us. Everyone else looks dumbfounded. Perhaps Career Day, some occasion for people with jobs to talk to us, has been pushed earlier. Mrs. Cynthia is with them and looks as prudent and orderly as ever. "Katniss, this is Peacekeeper Joseph and Peacekeeper Matthew. Something has just happened back home, involving your family."

"Is my family alright?" I ask anxiously. "Yes, they are." Mr. Matthews answers. "But we have to get you home earlier, because you are needed by your family. And we have to do so quickly, as the matter is urgent."


	13. Chapter 13: Still about Mum

Chapter 13

When I arrive back at home, I am greeted by the sight of Bumblebee, the sunlight-colored Autobot. He is standing over a charred body of another robot like him with some Peacekeepers. "Another Decepticon." one of the white-uniformed men mutters. "You're back, Bee." I say. Bumblebee was the only Autobot besides Hound who stayed on to comfort me and help me through my pain without my mum. Whenever he saw me in tears, he would be there ready to listen to my troubles and sadness. He's a very good listener for a Transformer.

Bumblebee used to be the protector of a guy named Sam on his Earth. I guess that is how he learned to be a man's, or a girl's best friend. But then Sam grew up and became rather spiteful and selfish, often ignoring his yellow robot friend many times. Needless to say, Bumblebee was hurt and kept to himself from then on. Until now.

"Yes, Katniss. Today, we found this corpse outside." I peer closely at the smoking remains. A Peacekeeper is about to ask me to go away, for safety's sake, but his comrade says, "It's dead. Doesn't matter." I see that the creature's chest looks like a crater, a hole formed by an inner implosion. "How did this happen?" I ask. "Must have drunk too much energon." Hound says grimly as this veteran khaki-colored Autobot steps forward. He pushes the body aside and turns it over carefully. His optics widen when he sees a shiny arrow stuck in the back.

"An explosive arrow. That figures." Bumblebee says. Hie optics have a flicker of recognition when he sees a weapon that my mum once used against giant mechanical monsters. Hound delicately extracts the projectile and scans it with blue holographic lasers. "A special ore that combines platinum, cobalt and paladium, with traces of adamantium and something like cybertronium, our ore. This must be a very powerful arrow." "Do you know this Decepticon?" I ask. Hound shrugs. "Must be one of Scorponok's minions." Then his optics harden and look more serious. "Please leave us for a moment." he says, addressing the Peacekeepers.

As the soldiers trot off, he bends down to speaks to me. "There are only two people that I know of who can shot with a bow and arrow. You and your mother. Your dad showed me your arrows that you often use, and they are made of wood and iron., not of a sophisticated origin."

Sophisticated? Sounds like Greek to me. And why would dad show Hound my arrows? It's my stuff! But I don't feel like complaining presently, so I bite my tongue and remain silent. Hound continues, "Katniss, we know that your mum fell in combat. But maybe, I say maybe, she's..." his voice trails off.

"There were some sightings, but not of Decepticons," Bumblebee says. "That nice old lady next door, Sae, was collecting herbs quite near the woods, claimed she saw a girl with long hair and a bow standing under a big oak. She said that she was wearing an armour similar to the Mockingjay specs." "When did she saw her?" I ask. "At 10 in the morning, she said." Bumblebee replies. "Impossible!" I say. "I was at school at that time, having History! Maybe it's some impostor of some sorts." Hound coughs anxiously and says, "You know, Katniss. She was not the only one who saw her. The sister of your mother's old fellow Tribute, Thresh, and another friend, Anne, also saw her, one saw her at the mockingjay trees and the other, just along the beach. And what was more, the girl didn't vanish straight away, as impostors would do. She actually went up to Sae and gave her a primrose."

Primrose. Reminds me of Aunt Prim. Why is this getting so creepy all of a sudden? My palms start to sweat and I feel queasy. Thoughts concerning the rising of the dead from their graves morph out of the blue in my head. "This is simply crazy. I mean, my mother's dead." The two Transformers look stunned at the word _dead_. "I said she's dead! Don't you two understand? How could she come back from the dead? OK, if she's alive and all, why wouldn't she just come home?" I look down at the ground. "I miss her, you know. "

"Well, for us Transformers, resurrection is an option," states Hound philosophically. "Optimus was killed in battle before. But then the Matrix of Leadership brought him back to life. Then Cyclonus, that imbecile stole it and used it to resurrect almost every vile Decepticon from Frenzy to Barricade. We got it back, but it was too late. But anyway, for this case, I know that your mum has escaped death many times. I think that there is still something that she has to accomplish. Prime used to tell me and Bee about an old Cybertronian belief of 'warrior's spirit'. If a soldier dies in combat, having done or failed in his or her duty, with a sense of responsibility, there is a chance for him or her to live again. But it's an old belief that I can think of. And Sae was fine, although she got freaked out a bit."

"Mum used to tell me that she saw heaven when she almost died. Do you Transformers have anything to do with the afterlife?" I ask. Bumblebee shrugs. "We don't know. But Prime told us that it was merely like sleep for his experience when he was killed by Megatron before he was brought back to life." This is so perplexing. "What are you going to do now?" I ask. "Keep this a secret," says Hound firmly. "President Paylor has ordered more troops to being stationed at the borders to watch for any fishy activity. If things go crazy, we'll just have to go along with the flow. And Prime and the Dinobots will be coming back. We have just made an agreement to share Cybertronian technology to boost defences. The remaining Decepticons seem to have opened manufacturing facilities to produce soldiers at a faster rate instead of recruiting vile Transformers. But if anything, we'll let you know."

"Thanks, Hound." I say. "I'll see you later." Then I go back to my home to find Bagel fixing something. "The oven burned again." he says. I shrug and got upstairs to my room. Dad seems to be still at the bakery, because the door to his room is wide open. Usually, he shuts the door when he is in. I take a glance at the room out of curiosity. I see a messy easel and a canvas, with paints scattered all about. I am not expecting any surprise, but I gasp when I see my dad's works of art plastered and stuck all about the room. He's even painted on the walls, in some fit of inspiration or madness. After all, no one but vandals paint on the walls. I put down my bag and take the time to look at each and every painting, since I have not much to do today. Some are familiar from the videos they show during History lessons.

Scenes from the Hunger Games which look mundane from the historic view, but more realistic and meaningful from the perspective of an actual Tribute. My mum is all over the place. On a tree, covering from Careers, and then sending down a tracker jacker nest. In a cave, bleeding profusely and then later, staring weakly at the roof of the dripping cave on a rainy night. My dad is simply magical, as he can capture every eye and every facial expression better than any camera with gigantic lenses made in the Capitol. My mother, so fierce yet so fragile, is depicted on the wall nearest to the door as a lover, kissing dad and feeding him. Her brown eyes are filled with tears in every painting. What does that signify? Her countless fears and worries? I see that famous painting which he titled _Love and Pearls,_ depicting him giving a shinypearl to her as a last gift in the Quarter Quell. The original painting is now in the Mockingjay museum, but I suppose he has produced a similar replica here. Being an artist, dad did put up some of his much-treasured paintings for the public to see.

A series of fiery paintings await me on another wall, this time mixing scenes of my mother's fight for freedom against depression, nightmares, Peacekeepers, President Snow, mutts, death, traps, secrets, Decepticons, and the Fallen. Her eyes are not brimming with tears this time. Determination and bravery are the only words I can use to define her facial expressions. My dad is such a genius. Her mouth is sculptured so brilliantly to form a sternness that I have never been able to express from my point of view, when my mum is about to launch into a tirade with a drunken Uncle Haymitch or a battered Megatron. My mum looks so beautiful yet so deadly in her Mockingjay armour. But the last few scenes are heart-wrenching. Painted in black and white, my dad displayed his memory of that awful and excruciating night of the Mockingjay's death.

This is the only painting that depicts me. I am shown hugging my mother to the end, daughter and mother together even to the throes of death. Every broken plating of armour is recreated not to look disastrous, but to be beautiful and even serene in a funny sense. My mother's weak smile even in death, simply brings tears to my eyes. My mother, who loved me too much to sacrifice her own life, the Mockingjay who had enjoyed so little and endured so much. No reward would be greater than the fact that she died honorably to protect her nation and her family, especially her daughter.

I edge away from the room, trying to keep my tears in and reflecting on my mother's deeds and my dad's amazing artistry.


End file.
